The upcoming live-action “Snow White” movie has faced criticism for its politically correct approach, reimagining the seven dwarfs as magical creatures of different sizes and genders.
Will a woke recasting of the Snow White story sell in American culture today?
Chris Smith: The Walt Disney company has finally admitted that leaked Snow White and the seven Dwarves’ photos are indeed from the Walt Disney Company’s production of the upcoming film starring Rachel Zeigler and Gal Gadot. I love her, by the way, despite initially claiming they were fake.
How much of a flop is this new work production going to be, Brian?
Brian McWilliams: I mean, as a studio, you must know ahead of time. This thing is just a dead man walking. Right? You know, it’s like walking down the aisle here, sending out the priest to walk it down to the electric chair. This thing’s got no shot.
I mean, if you’re denying that the film the, like, shots from your own film are real before the things even close to coming out — Yeah. — you know it’s Old Yeller time for this day. And, honestly, it makes me kinda think of I don’t know if you’re if you’re familiar with Warner Brothers, they killed off a film called Batgirl. which had tested so badly. And for similar reasons, it was so woke and leaning into everything that fans hate abandoning the core intellectual property, if the Batman franchise or the back row franchise, they just put it out to pasture.
They said we’re not even going to release it. We’ll take the tax rate off. And I honestly wonder if that’s what’s gonna happen with this latest iteration of, quote, unquote, Snow White.
Chris Smith: Well, they disowned their own product. by saying that the photos were fake. They’ve disowned their own product. Nothing to see here. It’s not ours.
It’s not ours. And if you do that, before it even comes out, what chance does it have? It’s a duck.
Brian McWilliams: Well, exactly. And can you blame them, though? I mean, let’s be honest, can you blame Snow White was the property that Disney was built on, right? Snow White, classic story, the 7th, whistle while you work.
Now I don’t know if you’ve seen the photo, you know, the actual photo here. Number 1, there’s only one dwarf, whether that’s politically correct or not to say it in 2023. There’s one dwarf the rest of them are not. They’re a, you know, multitude, United Colors of Benetton ad, one of which is a huge guy, you know, and they’re men and women. But they all look like, you know, the classic song whistle while you work.
None of these people look like they’re whistling while working at all. They look like they’re whistling while probably panhandling, maybe getting high on to know, you know, hopping on your doorstep. None of them are whistling while they’re working, Chris. I’ll tell you that much.
Chris Smith: Very good.
Brian McWilliams: And then still, like, it’s Latin.
Chris Smith: Yeah. It’s just amazing. You know, they live in a cocoon, these producers. They live in their own world, the Hollywood world, influenced by those around them who are of the same ilk, and they don’t have a handle on who turns up to the cinema. They have no handle on what actually makes them or gives them a living, and it just makes you wonder whether they’re in the wrong game entirely.
Brian McWilliams: That’s what I have settled on is that it’s hard to blame writers that you know, there’re writers that are writing fantastic that want to write good films people have got to love. It’s the people at the top who have lost all touch. There are people who have no concept. They’re leading with their ideology, over talent, over clarity, over what people actually will want to enjoy. I mean, this is what happens when you’re trying it’s like from a top down development standpoint, if you’re trying to teach somebody something instead of simply entertaining.
And Adam Devine, who is famous from Workaholics, a Comedy Central series, and he’s a film star now. He was just on a podcast with another comedian named Theo Von talking about how he’s out there pitching movies. And he goes, I can’t get comedies made anymore. because every time I sit down with a studio exec they go, well, why are we making this film now?
And he goes, because it’s funny, man. because it’s funny. But all these people were trying to be checked. Nope. It has to have a message, and that message only has to be in one vein of thought. That’s what’s killing us.
Chris Smith: Yeah. That’s what killed me. It’s so right, and it’s such a sad reflection on society in the culture wars.
